The Beliefs Of Martin Luther And The Roman Catholic Church

The beginning of the Protestant Reformation is often marked by one man’s appeal for change. Therefore, the life of Martin Luther is a thought-provoking subject not only for the scholar, but also for those curious about the history behind Lutheranism. Consequently, Roland H. Bainton has written Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Selling over a million copies, it was first published by Abingdon-Cokesbury in 1950, which awarded it a prize of $7,500.00. Bainton, an ordained minister, was a member of the faculty at the Yale Divinity School for 42 years. He is recognized as an authority on the

Luther’s fundamental religious problem was, how was it possible for a despairing sinner (human) to be welcomed to a wholeheartedly just and almighty God (receiving salvation)? Proceeding to his departure with the Roman Catholic Church, Martin Luther was a Augustin monk, Catholic Priest, and instructor of theology. With this being said, his judgments were supported on the lectures of the Catholic Church; on this he was thought of as an specialist. By virtue of his strong beliefs in the religion, he chose the teachings without any doubt. Nevertheless, this all altered when Albrecht of Brandenburg obtained the archdiocese of Mainz on the foundation of a considerable loan that he planned to repay by the sale of self gratification (indulgence).

Luther Man between God and the Devil is wonderfully written book that was authored by Heiko A. Oberman. The author of the book focuses on Luther’s life history with the overall purpose of discovering the under explored aspects of his life lessons. Oberman hoped to link Martin’s life with eternity and not a continuous progress towards heaven inspired by the chaos in the last days of eternity (Oberman, 1989, 12). Heiko is conscious of the monumental time difference between Martin Luther’s death and the period he constructs the details which comprise this work. During the author’s time of researching the history, theology, and character of Luther. We could argue that one of the over riding focuses of this book is that Luther’s poignant point of view for his life was symbolic of a struggle against the devil, or at the very least our interpretation.

By drawing assurance that faith frees from the law, Luther discusses God’s promises to “fulfill the law” through “believ[ing] in Christ” (Luther 2003). Similar to how good works do not justify righteousness, the law is not established through justification. On the contrary, the law does the opposite of justify; it is a prison to those who have not yet obtained grace. In this prison, humans tend to stay in the confinements of the cell in fear of the law; their obedience is inspired by fear. What kind of righteousness is expected to be obtained by only obeying in fear of punishment? Luther explains that those who strictly follow the law this way will eventually fail (Luther 2003). Yet, it is through faith in God that one can rely on His promises “to fulfill the law and not covet” (Luther 2003). However, Luther uses this concept to warn those who do not believe that they will not "fulfill all the works of the law" (Luther 2003). Through Christ, Luther corrected this misconception by believing that humans can be freed from the law only through a strong bond to faith.

Martin Luther was already questioning his catholic fate and this became worse when the pope allowed John Tetzel to sell indulgences. Luther strongly believed that the Catholic Church was conning the people of Wittenberg into believing they could pay off their sins. Indulgences are a remission of the purgatorial punishment due for sins according to the Roman Church. In acknowledgement to Tetzel’s actions, Luther wrote the “95 Theses”. The 95 Theses was a criticism of indulgences and it had ninety five points attacking the churches practices selling indulgences.

Prior to his new understanding of God’s righteousness Luther hated God because he did not know the love of God, he only knew the judging angry God. Luther did not understand how an angry God could be righteous. Consequently, Luther had been taught that, “God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner”. As a result, he believed there was no way for sinners to be justified by God. Luther felt crushed by the Mosaic Law and threatened with God’s righteousness and wrath by the gospel. However, through his studies and meditations Luther came to understand the true meaning of the phrase “righteousness of God”. He described his new understanding to be “the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith.” In other words, the righteousness of God is a gift from God to those who live by faith. Accordingly, Luther felt born again. He found a new relationship with God and the Scriptures. In the light of his new views, Luther was conflicted by the Roman Catholic Church teachings on penance and righteousness. As a result, Luther developed his own doctrine of justification based on

Faith alone to achieve salvation has come under much criticism involving its permissibility of sin that contradicts Luther’s

To address the issue, Luther examines the question of the reliance solely on faith to live life. By our nature, we are outward beings that interact with others. Because we aren't wholly inner and perfectly spiritual beings, we are called to these good works. This harkens back to Luther's earlier reference to 1 Corinthians 1:19, "'For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all,' and in Romans 13:8, 'Owe no one anything, except to love one another.' " Thus drawing on Paul, Luther says while we are free to do what we want, our faith also calls us to love and serve our neighbors.

Martin Luther was a Monk, Priest and Theologian born in late 1483 in the German town of Eisleben. His father owned a copper mine and had always wished for his son to go into civil service. When Luther was seventeen he arrived at the University of Erfurt. By 1502, Luther had already received his bachelor’s degree and by 1505 he had a Master’s degree. The same year, while returning to University, he was caught in a tremendous thunderstorm. A lightening bolt struck near him and terrified, he cried out, "Help, St. Anne! I'll become a monk!”. Luther lived, and keeping to his promise, he dropped out of university and entered the monastery.

As previously stated, as the number of people with the ability to interpret the bible increased, so did a resentment of the church which had grown into an oppressing political power by the time of the reformation. Protestant religions put more focus on the individuals relationship with god which is exemplified by Martin Luther’s ‘Sola fide’ Belief. ‘Sola fide’ means that only faith in god can earn one eternal salvation. Luther’s beliefs are derived from scripture, Romans 10:13 states, “For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. This contradicted the church’s teachings which said, “For it is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained.” Although not embraced by the Catholic church, humanistic individualism is shown in Lutheranism and other protestant movements which acknowledged the power of

Known and sometimes refers to as the father of reformation, Martin Luther was one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity. Born in Germany in 1483, his father’s dream for him was to become a lawyer. But, that dream fades away in 1505 when Luther undergo a life changing experience with thunderstorm and vowed to become a monk instead. Luther wanted to become a monk because he fears the idea of hell and God’s wrath to the extent where it made sense for him that life in the monastery would help him find salvation. Finding salvation then became his goal. A goal he was pursuing with all efforts from submitting to some of the church’s practices to criticizing some. One of the practices of the church that Luther took issue with and criticized was the church’s understanding of the doctrine of justification. This paper will focus on Luther’s understanding of the holy scriptures. The doctrine of justification was misinterpreted and misunderstood by the Catholics from the early centuries to 1517 when Martin Luther redefined and explained the term using scripture references and as the result changed Christianity.

A German Augustinian friar, Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. Luther grew up the son of a miner, but he did not maintain that lifestyle for himself. He lived in a period that had a widespread desire for reformation of the Christian church and a yearning for salvation.

“Unless I am convinced by proofs from scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract anything I have written, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” Martin Luther stated these words in 1521 when he was asked whether he still believed what his works taught. The Protestant Reformation was a movement during the 16th century, which aimed to reform some beliefs and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The reformation was led by a German monk named Martin Luther and was further modified by John Calvin, a French theologian and Henry VIII, the king of England. The ideas bought forward by these individuals started the Protestant Reformation, which triggered wars, prosecutions and the Counter-Reformation.

with his 95 Theses. A strict father who most likely did not accept “no” as an

Luther’s theology is strongly Christocentric, but Christology is rarely the central focus of his writings. In some of his most considered summaries of his own faith, he presents Chalcedonian Christology alongside the church’s teaching on the Trinity as the uncontroversial foundation of the Catholic faith, which he shared with his opponents. At the same time, it is evident that Luther’s most celebrated theological innovations, including his teaching on justification by faith, his theology of the cross, his soteriology, and in particular his doctrine of the Eucharist, had considerable Christological implications that sometimes seem at variance with received orthodoxy.